10 Best Space Heaters in 2018 – Tested, Compared & Reviewed

Space heaters come in all shapes and sizes. They can be electric, ceramic, oil filled, infrared, fan based or any combination of the above; they can be portable, wall mounted, as large as a TV or a small as a bread loaf, etc. Regardless of their design, however, they’re all used for the same thing: To warm us up.

Because the end result is what really matters, we’ve compiled a list where we analyze some of the best space heaters the market has to offer.

(Since different kinds of heaters were reviewed, we didn’t take wattage into consideration, but most of the articles in this list are pretty energy efficient, so it’s safe to assume that while you’ll notice an increase in your power bill, it won’t be significant enough to be a problem).

Best Space Heaters in 2018 - Reviews

In the following list, we’ll review space heaters regardless of their type, based on things such as design, safety of use, power and functionality. We also included a small guide aimed to help you make the best choice possible.

1. Lasko 5409 Oscillating Ceramic Heater

If what you’re looking for is a compact and efficient space heater that’s perfect for small rooms, then the Lasko 5409 is the one for you.

This tiny heater may not be able to heat up large rooms, but at only 4 lbs. and 11 inches in height, it’s definitely portable and affordable, making it the perfect choice for those of you living in small places or those with a small budget.

With three different settings, a body that stays cool to the touch even when in use and a truly impressive heating speed, this tiny ceramic heater has earned its place in this list, even if it can only heat up rooms no larger than 100 square feet.

Safety wise, this unit will shut off if it starts overheating, but it doesn’t come with a tip-off safety mechanism so you want to keep an eye on it, particularly because it’s so light.

The fan can be a little noisy, but no worse than your average fan, which means it can pass as white noise for some.

2. Honeywell 360 Degree Surround Fan Forced Heater

An efficient and unique heater, the Honeywell 360 comes with 2 heat settings, an adjustable thermostat and various safety measures.

More impressive is its truly unique design, which allows you to place this space heater in the middle of the room and have heat radiate in every direction.

Amongst is safety measures you can find a tip over switch, which shuts off the heater in case it falls over. An anti-overheat function that shuts off the heater if it starts overheating and a built-in timer that allows it to run for a few hours unsupervised.

Weighing a little less than 5 lbs., this is one of the lightest models in this entire list as well as one of the most portable, thanks to the stay-cool handle that lets you carry it around without a problem.

While the design allows heat to spread more efficiently it does mean the heater heats up just about everywhere, so do try to be careful with it when it’s in use.

It heats up things pretty quickly, which is perfect for small rooms, but it’s not well suited for large or drafty rooms so keep that in mind when selecting this model.

Pros

Efficient

Easy to move around

Comes with overheating and tip-over safety measures

Includes remote, adjustable thermostat and timer

Stay-cool handle that makes transportation even easier

Looks great

Cons

3. Dyson AM05 Hot Cool Fan Heater

A truly beautiful heater that can easily pass as an indoor decoration, this is one of the few space heaters in this list that can also work as an AC, making it the kind of heater you want to keep around all year long.

What makes this heater so special is that it radiates heat, rather than blasting it. This means that it will heat up your entire room, rather than just a single area.

The trade off? This heater takes longer to start heating, so if you want instant heat, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.

However, if you’re willing to leave it running for a couple of hours while you’re away, you’ll arrive to a perfectly toasty and warm room.

Larger and heavier than other heaters in this list, this space heater is capable of warming areas up to 5800 sq. feet efficiently. Do keep in mind, however, that it can be rather loud (particularly in the cool setting) so it’s probably best to use it outside of your bedroom.

Overall, we really enjoyed the design. Futuristic and minimalist, it goes well with modern apartments and homes. It also includes a magnet at the top, where you can place the remote for safekeeping.

Cons

4. Comfort Zone Mini Fireplace

A beautiful and efficient heater that’s perfect for small lofts and apartments, the Comfort Zone is built to resemble a miniature fireplace with a modern twist.

It comes with three settings to warm up your room exactly like you want it, and its quite lightweight, making it quite easy to move around your place so you don’t have to be cold anywhere in your home.

The small size does mean that it can’t heat up large rooms (anything over 400 sq. feet.) but it works quite well in smaller places. Plus, its attractive design and small size allows it to be placed just about everywhere, making it unobtrusive and beautiful to look at.

Safety wise it is a little lacking, as it doesn’t have automatic shut off, anti-overheating functions or even anti-tipping technologies so this is the kind of heater you should never leave unattended, particularly if you have kids or pets.

That said, it does stay cool to the touch and it’s surprisingly powerful for its size, so you get plenty of bang for your buck.

The simulated flames are fun to look at, but if there was an attempt at making them look realistic it was a weak one, so they work well to set up the ambient but you’ll never mistake them for the real deal.

Pros

Affordable

Looks great

Very transportable

Combines great with most decorating styles

Powerful

Cons

No safety functions whatsoever

The “flames” look less like flames and more like a Martian landscape (although this can also be a pro, depending on how you look at it)

5. Vornado TVH500 Whole Room Vortex Heater

A powerful and efficient space heater, the Vornado is perfect for those of you looking to heat up large rooms in a small amount of time.

It heats up very quickly and the fan is very powerful, which means it’ll be able to heat up rooms in a matter of minutes. However, the fan can be pretty loud and the heat isn’t distributed evenly, but it is fast.

It comes with a backlit control panel that lets you adjust the temperature even in the middle of the night, a solid and sturdy design that keeps it from tipping accidentally, a stay cool surface that allows you to move it around even immediately after it’s been used and more!

While it does come with a tipping shut off function (that immediately shuts off the heater if it tips off) it isn’t particularly reliable, so you should probably place this heater somewhere away from children and pets.

The Vornado comes in two variations (plastic and metal) and while the price and weight does change from one model to the other, they’re both equally reliable and efficient.

Cons

6. Honeywell UberHeat HCE200W

With a name such as UberHeat, you know you’re in for a treat and that’s because this handy little space heater packs quite a punch!

One of the fastest, if not the fastest, heaters in this list, the Uberheat can heat rooms up to 800 sq. feet in their entirety in less than thirsty minutes. All while weighing less than 4 pounds!

This space heater comes with 2 different heat settings, an adjustable thermostat and a design so portable that makes it perfect for just about any situation.

As many heaters in this list, this one will turn off automatically if the heater is accidentally tipped over or if it starts overheating, making it safe as well as efficient. Not only that, but the tool touch housing it’s encased in means you’ll be able to move it even while it’s in use.

As you can imagine, part of the power behind this little heater is the fan, which means the UberHeat can be quite noisy.

Pros

Cons

7. Pura Flame 36” Galena, Flat Panel Electric Fireplace

If what you’re looking for is a space heater that not only warms up your home but also decorates it in the most impressive way, you’re going to love this electric heater.

This is, by far, the largest heater in this list but it’s also one of the most spectacular, thanks not only to its sleek and modern design but also thanks to its hyper realistic flames thatreally makes it look like there’s a fireplace in your home.

Perfect to heat up rooms up to 400 sq. ft., the Pura Flame may not be the most powerful but it’s definitely the most attractive.

The heater itself is very easy to use, as it comes with an intuitive remote that lets you set up the temperature with just a couple of clicks.

Remember, this is a wall mounted heater (mount provided) which means that it doesn’t have any tipping shut off settings, but it does shut off if it starts overheating. However, there are some safety considerations you need to take, such as mounting it away from other electronics, potential water sources and the like.

The Pura Flame does come with a timer, and since it doesn’t touch the ground it’s pretty safe to program it and simply leave it running.

Pros

Beautiful and elegant

Easy to use

Very safe to use

Can be programmed to work on its own

The fire looks great

Cons

You’d assume a heater this size would be more powerful, but this heater can only warm up to 400 sq. ft. reliably.

8. DeLonghi HVY1030OR 1500-Watt Fan Heater

When you have small children or pets at home, it pays to go the extra mile to find appliances that are safe to use and this DeLonghi space heater is exactly that.

What we liked the most about the DeLonghi are its safety features. As most of the heaters in this list, it will shut off automatically if it is tipped over or if it starts to overheat. Unlike other heaters, however, it will also shut off if it’s covered by a piece of cloth or similar.

It also has a very sturdy build that can take a beating, thick stay-cool vents that prevent children from sticking their fingers in or trying to shove objects into the fan, a solid casing that also stays cool to the touch and it’s pretty lightweight, so you can place it on top of counters and the like if you want.

Another great characteristic of this heater is that the fan can be used without the heater, making it the kind of home appliance you can use all year long.

This heater can be loud, and it’s definitely loud when you use it only as a fan, but it’s one of our favorite ones nonetheless.

Cons

9. De’Longhi EW7507EB

While all of the items in this list are very efficient, some of them tend to be a little underpowered, better suited for single rooms or hallways.

If what you’re looking for is a quiet and powerful space heater, this oil filled radiator heater is perfect for you.

This heater comes with a built in programmable thermostat that lets you set it exactly how you want it. This means that you can decide when it will turn on, when it will turn off and what temperature you want it to reach.

Once programmed, you’ll be able to come and go as you please, knowing this sturdy and reliable heater will have your home warm and toasty when you arrive from work.

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys having the heater running through the night, worry not, since it has no fan, this heater is very quiet and won’t wake you up in the middle of the night.

As with other space heaters in this list, this one comes with an overheating safety feature, which shuts it off immediately if the temperature starts getting too hot.

Cons

10. Lasko 101 My Heat Personal Heater

In this list we’ve covered a variety of heaters, big and small, and while most of them are quite portable, none of them are as portable as this one.

Weighing only 1 pound, this is the portable heater. The heater that you take with you to the office, to your car and to every room in your house.

Its tiny size packs a surprising amount of energy and while it won’t be able to heat up entire rooms, it’ll keep you warm without any problems.

Despite its small size, it can be kind of loud but the noise is easy to ignore as long as the heater isn’t placed on top of your desk or right next to you.

As you can imagine, this heater can be knocked over very easily and it doesn’t have automatic shut off functions, so it’s not the safest one to leave unattended, but we found that was hardly a problem considering it only warms you if you’re nearby.

Since it’s so small, it only has an On/Off function, but it does its job well, considering it only uses 200 watts.

Pros

Affordable

You can take it anywhere

Surprisingly powerful for it size

Very discrete

Cons

Things to Consider - The Best Space Heaters

We’ve come to the end of our review, thank you very much for sticking around! By now, you probably have your own small list of finalists so before we go, we want to give you a small list of considerations so you can make the best choice:

Room Design:

While we paid a lot of attention to the max size of the rooms each heater is capable of heating, there are factors such as drafts, open floor plans, windows and the like that can make a room colder. If the room you want to heat up is the right size but particularly cold, consider purchasing a more powerful heater.

Safety:

All space heaters come with safety functions but not all of them cover every person’s needs.

If you live on your own, an automatic shut off in case of overheating is probably the only thing you need. If you have children or even pets, heaters that shut off when tipped are a good investment.

Extra Functions:

Some heaters can only be turned on and off while others are fully programmable and will work almost without any external inputs. Other heaters only work as heaters while others work as fans as well, making them a good choice for round-the-year usage.

Form is also a function, which means that some heaters are way prettier than others, with some even serving as home décor on their own. When choosing a space heater, keep in mind the things you want it to do other than warming you up and that will get you closer to the perfect choice.

Final Verdict

Now that you know what to keep in mind when purchasing a space heater and you’ve seen the top 10 best space heaters the market has to offer, you’re ready to make your purchase so we won’t hold you back any longer.